Q&A with ... Saints LB Jonathan Vilma

In his five seasons, Jonathan Vilma has won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and made the Pro Bowl, but he has also gone through his share of upheaval. He played for two coaches with the Jets -- Herm Edwards and Eric Mangini -- and then was traded to New Orleans after an injury-filled 2007 season. An All-American and three-time academic all-conference player at Miami (Fla.) who was part of a national championship team in 2001, Vilma told Sporting News Today's Albert Breer he thinks this could be the year he experiences such success at the pro level.

Q: You were a pretty serious student in college. What influenced you in that area?
A: It definitely came from my parents. If I wanted to play when I was younger, I was forced to have my grades up. My dad wouldn't let me play without a B average. And then I finally got to the point where I realized that your grades and your education … nothing can beat having those. I love football, but education is more important. It's something no one can take from me, and back then, I didn't need my parents to know that, which is a credit to them.

Q: So do you have a career planned for after football?
A: I did start preparing for that, I had a couple scenarios, depending on how long I played. But right now, I've already beaten the curve. I'm going into my sixth year, and most guys don't last this long. So for me, now, it's planning my retirement rather than another career.

Q: Have you thought about things you'd like to do after football?
A: Television would be fun, for longevity. But I'd really like to own my own bank. I have a finance degree, and I've always been into that.

Q: Was it jarring to be traded?
A: It's part of the business; it didn't really bother me. It was just adjusting to life, going to New Orleans from New York City and learning new teammates. It is what it is. I had a great time in New York. But at the end of the day, it's a business.

Q: What do you miss about New York?
A: New York City was great; there's nothing like it. There was always something to do, whether it's eating or seeing a show, or fashion week. There's so much going on.

Q: What do you like most about New Orleans?
A: The food, by far. I don't think I've had a bad meal since I got here.

Q: Is this Saints team as close to getting to the Super Bowl as it was three years ago?
A: I think we're still right there. Any Sunday could be the one where we get over the top. Look at Arizona. It'll be a matter of us believing in each other.

Q: Were you really a bad fit in Eric Mangini's defense?
A: I think what happened is when you have two really good years to start in the NFL, you set the bar so high so that if you fall off at all, people notice. People would still say I was above average but that I didn't have 180 tackles and then say, 'He's not a fit for this defense.' It's hard to say if that was true. I'd rather play in the 4-3, of course.

Q: Do you marvel at the talent you played with at Miami?
A: Yeah, I think we all now realize that we were loaded. We had a good five-year stretch where we can look back and say we were loaded at pretty much every position. But we were all 18, 19, 20, just playing football. The craziest thing is a lot of us played against each other in high school. So at U of M, we didn't think anything of it. We didn't understand the talent we had. You look back now; we had some guys.

Q: What did you learn playing on those teams?
A: It really taught me that it doesn't matter how talented you are; you always have to prove it. It was about that in the spring, from practices to games at Miami. You prove it. From having the best backs to the linebackers to the receivers, you have to prove yourself. It has created a mentality. Even if you're a Pro Bowler, you work at it.

Q: Tough to see Miami struggle?
A: Oh yeah, it's tough. But I'm a true, diehard Hurricane, so I'm behind them.

Q: What will it take to turn it around?
A: Confidence. They have to win a couple of big games. They were closer last year. It didn't look close against Florida, but it was (9-3) going into the fourth. Then (Florida) started ripping off touchdowns. But you get those young guys experience, and confidence, and eventually they pull out those games and you're on your way.



(sportingnews.com)